On June 15, the House Committee on Education and Labor held a hearing titled “Budget Cuts and Lost Learning: Assessing the Impact of COVID-19 on Public Education.” Witnesses were Michael Leachman, Ph.D., Vice President for State Fiscal Policy, Center on Budget and Policy Priorities; Rebecca Pringle, Vice President, National Education Association; Mark Johnson, Superintendent of Public Instruction, North Carolina Department of Public Instruction; and Eric Gordon, Chief Executive Officer, Cleveland Metropolitan School District. Visit the Committee website for more information or to access video of the hearing.
Tag Archives: Hearings
House Committee Holds Hearing on Tax Relief to Support Workers and Families During the COVID-19 Recession
On June 18, the House Committee on Ways and Means, Subcommittee on Select Revenue Measures held a hearing titled “Tax Relief to Support Workers and Families During the COVID-19 Recession.” Witnesses were Amy Matsui, Senior Counsel, The National Women’s Law Center; Indivar Dutta-Gupta, Co-Executive Director, the Center on Poverty and Inequality at the Georgetown University Law Center; Allison Bovell-Ammon, Director of Policy Strategy for Children’s HealthWatch at Boston Medical Center; Martha Rodriguez, Preschool educator from Renton, WA; and Kyle Pomerleau, resident fellow, American Enterprise Institute. Visit the Committee website for more information or to access video of the hearing.
Housing: House Committee Holds Hearing on COVID-19 and Evictions
On June 10, the House Committee on Financial Services Subcommittee on Housing, Community Development, and Insurance held a hearing titled, “The Rent Is Still Due: America’s Renters, COVID-19, and an Unprecedented Eviction Crisis.” Witnesses were Cashauna Hill, Executive Director, Louisiana Fair Housing Action Center; Mike Kingsella, Executive Director, Up for Growth; Ann Oliva, Visiting Senior Fellow, Center on Budget and Policy Priorities; and Jenny Schuetz, Fellow, The Brookings Institution. The hearing examined 13 bills including the Emergency Rental Assistance and Rental Market Stabilization Act (H.R.6820) and the HEROES Act (H.R. 6800). Visit the Committee website for more information or access video of the hearing.
Rights: House Committee Holds Hearing on Protecting the Right to Vote During the COVID-19 Pandemic
On June 3, the House Judiciary Committee Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights, and Civil Liberties held a hearing titled, “Protecting the Right to Vote During the COVID-19 Pandemic.” Witnesses were Stacey Abrams, Chair, Fair Fight Action; J. Christian Adams, President and General Counsel, Public Interest Legal Foundation; Barbara Arnwine, President, Transformative Justice Coalition; Jocelyn Benson, Secretary of State, State of Michigan; Michelle Bishop, Disability Advocacy Specialist for Voting Rights, National Disability Rights Network; Tom Fitton, President, Judicial Watch; Dale Ho, Director, Voting Rights Project, American Civil Liberties Union; and Myrna Perez, Director, Voting Rights and Elections Program, Brennan Center for Justice. Visit the Committee website for more information or access video of the hearing.
Immigration: House to Hold Hearing on Deporting Critically Ill Children and Their Families
On October 24, the House Oversight Committee’s Subcommittee on Civil Rights and Civil Liberties will hold a hearing on the Administration’s Decision to Deport Critically Ill Children and Their Families. Ken Cuccinelli, the Acting Director of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), and Matthew T. Albence, the Acting Director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) will testify. This hearing was originally scheduled for October 17, but was postponed. Additional information on the rescheduled hearing will likely be posted on the committee website. Read The Arc’s initial statement opposing the Administration’s policy here.
Employment: Senate Committee Holds Hearing on Labor Nominee
On September 19, the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee held a hearing on the nomination of Eugene Scalia to be Secretary of Labor. The Department of Labor is the agency responsible for the implementation of federal labor and employment laws, including those relating to wages and hours. Additionally, it includes the Office of Disability Employment Policy which is a non-regulatory agency that promotes employment of people with disabilities. Visit the Committee web site for more information or to access video of the hearing.
Rights/Immigration: House Holds Hearing on “The Administration’s Apparent Revocation of Medical Deferred Action for Critically Ill Children”
On September 11, the House Committee on Oversight and Reform’s Subcommittee on Civil Rights and Civil Liberties held a hearing on “The Administration’s Apparent Revocation of Medical Deferred Action for Critically Ill Children.” This policy allowed some immigrants to with serious medical needs and their family members who care for them to stay in the country while receiving life-saving treatment. The Arc is opposed to ending this policy. Visit the Committee website for more information or to access video on the of the hearing. Read The Arc’s statement on this policy here, and see the letter of record from disability advocates, including The Arc, here.
Rights/Immigration: House to Hold Hearing on “The Administration’s Apparent Revocation of Medical Deferred Action for Critically Ill Children”
On September 11, The House Committee on Oversight and Reform’s Subcommittee on Civil Rights and Civil Liberties will hold a hearing on “The Administration’s Apparent Revocation of Medical Deferred Action for Critically Ill Children.” This policy allowed some immigrants to with serious medical needs and their family members who care for them to stay in the country while receiving life-saving treatment. The Arc is opposed to ending this policy. Visit the Committee website for more information or to access live video on the of the hearing.
Housing: Senate to Hold Hearing on Housing Finance Reform
On September 10, the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs will hold a hearing titled “Housing Finance Reform: Next Steps”. Witnesses will include Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson, and Federal Housing Agency Director Mark Calabria. People with disabilities and their families already face a national shortage of accessible, affordable housing, particularly the lowest-income people with disabilities, so it’s important to make sure housing finance reform proposals would not create additional barriers or increase costs in a way that worsens the problem. Visit the committee website for more information or to access live video on the day of the hearing.
Social Security: House Committee Holds Hearing on Social Security Financing Bill
On July 25, the House Ways and Means Committee held a hearing on the Social Security 2100 Act (H.R.860). The bill would make Social Security benefits more adequate by providing a modest across-the-board increase, improving annual cost of living adjustments, and increasing the minimum Social Security benefit to 25 percent above the federal poverty line. Additionally, it would create a single Social Security Trust Fund to simplify Social Security’s operations and ensure that Social Security is able to pay full scheduled benefits for the next 75 years through modest enhancements to revenues. The Arc strongly supports the Social Security 2100 Act. Testimony from the hearing is available on the committee website.